Bicycle-brake



(NoModel.) l

x C. M'. POBES.

, Y BICYCLE BRAKE.

No. 605,092. Pat

ted June 7,1898.

Char@ JM Fbw; @y eAmujeys,

VPATENT Friese A(ii-IARLES FoBEs, oF WEST WILLIAMSFIELD, ovino.

vBlGYCLE-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,092, dated June 7,-.'1398. Apl51iaeiiiea-4ugi '5, 139e. saai No. 601,761. (No modem To a/ZZ whom tn/my carceraria- Be it known that L CH'ARLns M. FoBns, a

citizen of the United--States,residing at West Williamsield, in the county of Ashtabula'and t Stateof Ohio, have invented a new and useful Bicycle-Brake, of which thel following is a speciiication. l

This invention relates to brakes, and is especially designed for use upon bicycles.

Thelobject of the presentfinvention is Vto provide in connection with thehub of` the, driving-wheel of the bicycle or similar ve' hiclc a strap-brake adaptedy by suitable mechanism to retard the forward revolution o f said wheel and to be thrown" into actionby the voluntary or involuntary back-pedalin g of the rider. v i

Theinvention consists in certainI novel features "and details of construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, yillustrated in the drawings, and pointed out inthe claim hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of as sufiici'ent portion ofa bicycle to illustrate the application of the nn-` proved brake thereto and its location thereon. Y

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectiontaken in line with the drive-wheel axle.v Fig. 3 is a detail elevation showing the sprocket-rim, the stationary center or hub portion of the sprocket, the frictionwheel, an d the relation of the strap-brake to such'fpartsf Similar numerals ofA referencev designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings. 1

The improved brake contemplated in the present invention may be applied to any chaindriven vehicle, but for the purpose of illustration is shown as applied to the rear'or driving wheel of a bicycle.

Referring to the drawings, l designates the rear or driving wheelof a bicycle, tothe hub 2 of which, upon one side, is rigidly secured a disk 3, having its periphery threaded to receive an internally-threaded open sprocketrim 4, which is screwed to place thereon, as shown in Fig.` 2. The disk 3 and rim 4 are each provided with a stop 5, and these stops cooperate to limit the turning of the rim on the disk 3 in one direction.

6 designates-the stationary axle, mounted -at itsends in the slotted en'ds 7,l vwhich convas indicated at 11.

neet the rear-forksides and rearlbraces Vof the bicycle-frame. Upon this stationary axle is a fixed and stationary friction-disk 3, and lextending around this friction-disk is a springstrap brake 9, one end of which is Vsecured to alaterally-projecting stud 9a on the disk3 and the other end to allaterally-proj ecting stud l0 on the sprocket-rim 4. This spring-strap is reinforced upon its inner ,active surface'with a'strip of leather or other suitable material,

By the construction described it will be seen thatwhen the sprocket` rim 4is given a backward rotation relatively to the disk 3 on vthe wheel-1mb the strap-brake will be wound closely around the stationaryv y disk 8, and the motion of the wheel will be retarded proportionately to the power applied to the sprocket-rim 4 in a reverse direction from its normalrotation. Upon releasing the sprocket-rim 4 the spring-strap 9 will operate to'turn Athe rim 4 forward until the stops 5 cometogether, when the strap-brake will be thrown entirely out of engagement with the friction-disk, thus leaving the wheel free to rotate.

l2 designates an inclosing case or cover which embraces the axle 7 and 'covers in the operative parts of the brake mechanism, so as to protect the same from dust, moisture, &c. This case or cover l2 is held stationary Yby means of alaterally-prjecting lug 13 on the stationary disk 8, said lug `projecting through an opening lin the cover'. l2 an`d entering the slot in thefork end at the adjacent side of the machine. This'lngserv'es to take the additional strain putv upon f the laxle by reason of the application of the brake to the disk 8, which is fast on and forms a part of the axle. From the sprocket-rim 4 a drivechain extends to the front sprocket on the crank-axle in the usual manner.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that when the rider either voluntarily or involuntarily back -pedals the sprocketrim 4 is backed or retarded sufficiently to apply the strap-brake to the stationary .frictiondisk 8 with a force proportionate to the 'pressure applied to the pedals. Itrwill also be seen that the brake is extremely compact and that its presence can hardlybe detected upon the machine. At the same timefaneffective and reliable brake is provided andone which IOO may be manufactured at very low cost and applied to any bicycle on the market or other chain-driven vehicle.

It will be understood that the brake mechanisin is susceptible of changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction, which may accordingly be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

By having the periphery ofthe disk 3 screwthreaded and the inner side of the sprocketrim correspondingly screw-threaded the parts 3 and i maybe comparatively thin and occupy the saine vertical plane and will be prevented from relative lateral displacement, and upon removing one or the other ot the stops 5 and disconnecting a terminal of the strap 9 from one of the parts 3 and i the sprocket-rim may be easily removed for any desired purpose. Inasmueh as a slight backward movement of the sprocket-rim insures an application ot" the brake the joint between the parts 3 and 4 will not be noticeable and oftstanding parts are obviated.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- In a brake for bicycles and similarly-propelled machines, the combination of a disk applied to the hub of the drive-wheel and having its periphery screw-threaded, a sprocketrim internally threaded and mounted upon the said disk to turn thereon, cooperating stops applied to the sprocket-rim and disk to limit the forward movement of the rim, a friction-disk coneentrieally mounted with the drive-wheel and having a lateral lug entering the slot in the fork member of the frame adjacent to the brake, a brake-strap surrounding the friction-disk and normally held out of action, and having its terminals secured, respectively, to the sprocket-rim and disk, and a casing inclosing the friction-disk,bral\:e strap and stops, and having an opening through which the aforesaid lug passes, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto al'lixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES M. FOURS.

Vitnesses:

EMMA Folies, MYRTLE Fonics. 

